LITMIR.BIZ

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She paused, then shifted in the chair, bringing his attention to her full breasts.

      “So…where were you tonight?”

      He looked back into her eyes. “Just doing some chores.” She didn’t have to know that he had a helper who cleaned the stalls and maintained the tack for him when he was busy with a project or out of town. “Thinking, too.”

      “Oh? About what?”

      “Us. The baby. What you want to do about it.”

      She shifted in the chair, sitting up straighter. “Did you come to any conclusions?”

      He could tell that what she really wanted to ask was, “Have you decided to do things on my terms?”

      “Yes, I did.” He reached for her hands, noting they were cool and dry. He felt tiny tremors pass through her body, as though she was trembling in anticipation. “First, I have to ask you something.”

      “What?”

      “Do you think what we felt in Monte Carlo was real?”

      “What do you mean, real? I certainly wasn’t faking anything!”

      “I mean, do you think the immediate attraction we felt was genuine? Or was it a fluke? When you look back on that time, do you say to yourself that you were stupid? Or do you remember the weekend fondly?”

      “Well…I think we were irresponsible that one time, but overall, I don’t think anything that happened was stupid. I don’t think we reacted to each other any differently there than if we’d been introduced in New York or L.A. And despite the inconvenient timing of this pregnancy, I can’t say that I’m sorry that we made a baby together.”

      “For the record, I’m happy about the baby, too. It took me a while to get used to the idea, since I hadn’t planned to get married or to have children.”

      “Well, it hasn’t been so long. I just showed up on your doorstep right after lunch.”

      “True, but I’m an intuitive kind of guy. I just needed some time to think about us in relation to this…new development.”

      “Still, this was a pretty big shock, I think.”

      “I’m glad you told me right away, though.”

      “It was only fair, especially since I also asked you to marry me right away.”

      “Speaking of marriage, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.”

      “And?”

      “I understand your position about your career and the contract you signed.”

      “I feel a big ‘but’ coming on,” she said, pulling her hands away from his and tugging her robe tighter.

      “I also believe that having two parents is best for a child.”

      “Best, perhaps, but not necessary.”

      “The thing is,” he continued, deciding to ignore her comments for the moment. She could get him into a tangential conversation far too easily. “I’ve been giving your ideas on marriage a lot of thought. And I simply don’t agree with your premise.”

      “Which premise is that?”

      “That this needs to be temporary. That we have no basis upon which to build a deeper relationship.”

      “You want to stay married longer? For the sake of the baby?”

      “If we get married, I want to stay married period. That’s how marriage is supposed to work.”

      “But often doesn’t.”

      “True. I’m a perfect example of how it’s sometimes necessary to end a marriage.” Getting a divorce was the best thing possible, given his ex-wife Tiffany’s priorities. He wasn’t about to be labeled a two-time loser, especially not now that he’d set down roots in a place he loved. If he married then divorced Jodie, people who cared about him would be understanding, but they’d still know he’d failed twice—either by choosing the wrong women to marry or by being unable to compromise and care enough to hold them.

      “This time, I’m older and wiser. If I stand before a minister or an official of the state and say my vows, I need to mean them.” He looked deeply into Jodie’s troubled eyes. “I need to know you mean them, too.”

      “Travis, you’re making a bigger issue out of this than it needs to be. There’s no reason to make this into a big production with lifetime consequences.”

      He pulled back, his anger rising until he told himself that Jodie was scared. He could see it in her eyes. She felt as if she might lose the career she’d built based on her image. She was pregnant and single. And she didn’t want a lifetime commitment from him because she didn’t believe in the feelings they’d shared for one weekend in Monte Carlo.

      Not that he believed in love. Depending on that fleeting emotion would be like building a house on shifting sand. Anyone could say they loved you, swear that they’d love you forever, without it meaning anything. The attraction, the mutual respect, the companionship he and Jodie shared—those were real.

      He was convinced they could get those feelings back. He knew it when he looked at her sleeping in his guest room or in unguarded moments when she allowed her vulnerability to peek through the polished veneer she showed the rest of the world.

      “Like it or not, we’ve made a lifetime commitment by creating a child together.”

      “We can have a responsibility to the child without having one to each other.”

      “Maybe you can. I don’t think so, but I might be wrong. But I can’t function that way. We should have a commitment to stay married or we don’t get married at all.”

      “You’re giving me an ultimatum?”

      “Just like you handed me one when you walked in the door.”

      “That was different. I was trying to be considerate. I never wanted you to think that I was trying to trap you into marriage. You must know I didn’t plan to get pregnant. That’s why I still believe a temporary marriage would be best.”

      “Jodie, I’m absolutely serious when I tell you this. We’re getting married on Saturday, which is Valentine’s Day, at Bretford House in Ranger Springs. That’s where we normally have receptions for local weddings. I would suggest having the ceremony in the church, but they’re refinishing the floors right now.”

      He paused to take a breath. “It takes three days in Texas to get a license and make the arrangements. The date will seem romantic when your publicist prepares a press release about our whirlwind courtship.”

      “Three days to plan a wedding!”

      “You’ll have one day to decide, then we need to go to the county clerk’s office to apply for a license. I suggest you call your relatives, friends and business associates tomorrow and make travel arrangements for them. I’ll take care of the rest.”

      She looked completely stunned as she sat upright in the chair, framed by the window. In the dark glass he saw a reflection of the room. He saw himself, looking stiff and determined. Well, fine. That’s how he felt. His decision was firm—he wasn’t getting married again unless it was for keeps. Maybe he and Jodie didn’t have enough in common to build a marriage, but maybe, just maybe, they did.

      At least this time his wife wouldn’t beseech him to tell her he loved her one more time. To prove that he loved her by giving in to her demands for more, more, more. Jodie wasn’t insecure and clingy; she wouldn’t need constant reassurance.

      He turned away from his austere image, then remembered an earlier conversation. “Oh, and by the way, we’re having dinner Wednesday night with Hank and Gwendolyn McCauley. Seven o’clock.”

      “Travis, you can’t just come

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